Zirndorf

Infobox German Location
type = Stadt
Wappen = Zirndorf.jpg
lat_deg = 49 |lat_min = 27
lon_deg = 10 |lon_min = 57
Lageplan = Landkreis_Fürth.svg
Bundesland = Bayern
Regierungsbezirk = Mittelfranken
Landkreis = Fürth
Höhe = 306
Fläche = 28.78
Einwohner = 25352
Stand = 2006-12-31
PLZ = 90513
PLZ-alt = 8502
Vorwahl = 0911, 09127 (Wintersdorf, Weinzierlein)
Kfz = FÜ
Gemeindeschlüssel = 09 5 73 134
LOCODE = DE ZIR
Gliederung = 12 Stadtteile
Straße = Fürther Str. 8
Website = [http://www.zirndorf.de/ www.zirndorf.de]
Bürgermeister = Thomas Zwingel
Partei = SPD

Zirndorf is a Bavarian town in the district of Fürth.

The first mention of the town occurs in a document dated September 9, 1297. The town was virtually destroyed during the Thirty Years’ War, though the brewing industry established in the late seventeenth century helped in its recovery. In the mid-nineteenth century, the toy industry contributed to the town’s industrial development, and remains important today.

tructure

Pinder Barracks

In 1935 the city of Zirndorf applied to the German Reich Administration to have a caserne built here. The application was approved, with the condition of Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering, that construction must be in the Franconian style. The plans were prepared by the Construction Office of the German Air Force, and work began on the Barracks in the spring of 1938. It was completed in mid-1940. This Spotlight and Anti-Aircraft Barracks as it was then called, was one of the best military training barracks in the Third Reich.

In 1945, soldiers of the U.S. 26th Infantry Regiment occupied the barracks. On 11 May 1949, this barracks was renamed in honor of John J. Pinder Jr., an American soldier who fell in a battle near Colleville-sur-Mer, France, on 6 June 1944. For his bravery, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

In the decades since 1945, many American units were stationed at Pinder Barracks. The 1st Armored Division's Divisional Artillery (DIVARTY) called Zirndorf home from 1971 until shortly after the Gulf War in 1991. Shortly thereafter, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, Europe (AAFES-Europe), headquarters their operations at Pinder Barracks. In the fall of 1993, the 7th Corps Support Group moved its home to Pinder Barracks as well. Within the departure of AAFES-Europe and the 7th Corps Support Group, the chapter of America's presence in Zirndorf came to a close.

Although these barracks in the years to 1999 was abandoned, remained the name Pinder as decision of the city administration the name of the newly formed city-district "Pinder Park".

Other

The Brandstätter Group, producer of the Playmobil line of toys, is headquartered in Zirndorf, which also features a Playmobil Funpark.

External links

* [http://www.zirndorf.de/ Official Website] de icon